and he recited it to them for some time.”

Since the Quran is the best of speech, they were forbidden to follow anything else. Allah Most High said:

“Is it not sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book, which is recited to them?”

Al-Nasā’ī and others reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a portion of the Torah in ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb’s hand and said:

“If Moses were alive and you followed him and abandoned me, you would go astray.”

Another version states:

“He would have no choice but to follow me.”

In another wording:

“The Prophet’s expression changed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when ʿUmar presented that to him. One of the Helpers said to ʿUmar, ‘O son of al-Khattāb, do you not see the expression on the face of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace?’

“ʿUmar said, ‘We are content with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion, and Muhammad as our Prophet.’”

For this reason, the Companions were forbidden to follow books other than the Quran. ʿUmar benefited from this lesson, so much so that when Alexandria was conquered and many books of the Romans were found there, they wrote to ʿUmar about them. He ordered that they be burned, saying, “The Book of Allah is sufficient for us.”

Ibn Abī Hātim reported: My father narrated to us; Ismāʿīl ibn Khalīl narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn Mushir narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn Ishāq narrated to us, from Khalīfah ibn Qays, from Khālid ibn ʿUrfutah, who said:

“I was with ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb when a man from the tribe of ʿAbd al-Qays, who lived in al-Sūs, was brought before him. ʿUmar asked him, ‘Are you so-and-so, son of so-and-so, al-ʿAbdī?’

“He replied, ‘Yes.’

“He asked, ‘And are you the one residing in al-Sūs?’

“He replied, ‘Yes.’

“Then ʿUmar struck him with a staff he had with him. The man asked him, ‘What have I done wrong?’ He said: